Spell
by Freekiellie
Summary: Full summary inside. After Shouyo is ended and Edo begins its long recovery, Gintoki pays his debts to his past and forms new bonds in the present. Shinpachi is elsewhere helping rebuild the dojo, whilst Okita Sougo is left to ensure Kagura is not left alone. But there's something not quite right with her - something Gintoki hasn't seen.
1. Apartment Nights Alone

**Summary** **-**

After the war with Shoyou ended, Gintoki changed. He reconstructed his past friendships which he had believed shattered beyond recovery. He became romantically involved with someone - an emotion he never trusted to have. He was still recovering, slowly, and from time to time he needed to escape and mourn his master, but all in all, he was moving on. With the town in ruins and the old government buried in the past, samurai values are stronger than ever in the heart of Kabuki. The Shimura siblings have a lot of work to do to restore their dojo which had been flattened to the ground. He, too, was moving forwards.

Where did that leave Kagura? Alone.

* * *

 **Apartment Nights Alone**

At this point in the story, the yorozuya and Edo are in a state that can be described as the closest to peaceful that they're ever going to be. The war against Shoyou and the rest of the universe had ended several months ago, the Shinsengumi were back in full force, and Gintoki? Still a lazy, good for nothing perm. The town was rejuvenating itself. With most of the repairs, the past was being wiped out. Where old fashioned wood had stood tall, skyscrapers were piling taller. Houses made of futuristic, technology-packed space materials were popping up all over the rubble covered city, bringing life between the desolation. Shops and restaurants were growing like plants from the smashed concrete. Electricity lines sprouted roots and lit up Edo once more. It was going to take some time, but Edo was going to rebuild itself. It was going to start again.

Somewhere within the beating heart of a new samurai country was the Yorozuya. At this moment in time, Gintoki was absent from the scene. It was a regular occurrence of recent and according to Hijikata, it was his way of dealing with the painful memories of his previous master, whom he had cut down twice now. He would disappear for a few days, gather himself, and return as normal. It seemed he spent a lot more time with Zura during these absences and even Takasugi, whom he had patched over some of the gaping holes in their once solid relationship with. They were never going to be as close as before, but it was a start. It was assumed by his closest allies that those two were the only people he felt could understand him when the memories of the past were too overwhelming. In the days he ventured off alone, like a magnet he'd be drawn to them. What they did together remained unknown, but no one expected anything good.

In a silent apartment, only one person sat in the room usually buzzing with life. Kagura pulled a pair of knee high boots over her feet and clicked her heel onto the floor. Shinpachi was busy helping his sister literally rebuild the dojo with whatever they could salvage from the wreckage, and _someone_ had to run the yorozuya. There was plenty of work to do nowadays. Every townsman was in need of a helping hand for a low price. Today she was looking for a lost person – and she would do her damnedest not to bump into a certain other individual she knew.

They were arguing. They had barely been together two minutes and already she was pissed and he was pissed and basically they were both pissed but unwilling to compromise. It had started when she had missed their date, something that he had organised to stop her from 'moping around on her period'. Because yes, she had been depressed. Everything she knew had been torn from under her, the safety blanket she had wrapped around herself had been burned to cinders. Gintoki was broken; the town was broken; the yorozuya was broken. She didn't like change. She didn't want to adapt to having to live alone now, because even when Gintoki _was_ home he took to spending the nights with Hijikata at the barracks. And Shinpachi was preoccupied on his end, too. She hated that what she had loved and adored with all her heart had shattered with the pieces flung apart, out of reach. Sougo had noticed her sorrow and made an attempt to cheer her up. He was going to take her out and pay for her, which she had mentioned made her feel sick at the thought – his kindness often came with a catch. But after one hell of a hectic day, she had forgotten. She had slipped off her boots in the doorway of the apartment and never put them back on again, completely exhausted and asleep on the sofa within mere minutes. It was the next day when she woke up and remembered. By then, it was far too late to even partially redeem herself.

If that was the reason for the argument, however, she was sure it would all have been fine. The problem was the argument that arose when she tried to apologise. Sougo was pissed, she got that, and he refused to take her seriously. He gave her the cold shoulder to the point where she felt the frostbite nipping at her chest. So she gave him some time, a few hours in fact, so that he could cool down (or warm up), but instead he blew up in her face again and spat insults. The whole thing had exploded out of proportion and they had both said things they definitely shouldn't have. It wasn't fun and she hadn't slept well at all. Knowing him, it would have been on his mind all day at work, too.

She sighed, dodging a lob of brick collapsing on her right. People were clambering over the remains of a hotel trying to pull full sofas out of the rubble. The makeshift yorozuya they had built hadn't taken long because the damage it had taken hadn't been severe. A few fixes to the roof and a new doorway made out of paper and bingo, fixed. The shinsengumi barracks had taken even less damage since it was a little out of the way and surrounded by towering walls. The Shimura residence, however, had been flattened. It was going to take more than a few months to make it even a shadow of what it was.

Speaking of shadows, a familiar one was up ahead. She glanced up to Gintoki who hadn't yet noticed her. He was walking away from her with his head down, eyes hidden away so that she couldn't tell what he was thinking. She could hazard a guess from his posture, though. Slumped over, feet scuffing the ground and kicking stones like pinballs in every direction. It was the first she had seen of him in three days. She wanted to call out to him, but her voice no longer came out. She couldn't speak to him the same way she used to. She couldn't remember what normal conversation with him was.

And at that moment, Hijikata stepped beside him and matched his pace. Immediately Gintoki looked up, his eyes softened and his step picked up. Kagura stopped walking.

There was nothing she could do for him. He didn't need her anymore. Their family was broken now and Gintoki had found somewhere else he liked to be. He had reinstated his ties with old friends, and turned a new friend into something more. She had been pushed out. The yorozuya was no more.

"Are you crying?" Kagura didn't even raise her head at the voice. She had no energy to fight back. "Don't just cry in the street. Some old pervert will pick you up."

"Like right now?"

" … You still have a sharp tongue even when depressed. Come on, we need to talk anyway."

She let herself be led by Okita Sougo to wherever he had decided they needed to go. There was a part of her that felt relieved that they were speaking again, but she was so drained that she couldn't even embrace it. Eventually, they were at the water's edge of the city's main river. It was a winter's afternoon, so the sun was already setting despite the time. Sougo tugged at her hand to instruct her to sit and did the same once she was settled.

"You're a hormonal bitch and I'm really pissed," he announced. Kagura nodded, encouraging him to continue. "I was looking forward to it."

"I know," she replied, quietly.

"Also, this whole thing with danna … It'll pass." She said nothing and dropped her chin onto her knees. "He needs time to recover and he just doesn't want you two to see him this way."

"Is that what Hijikata said?" She spat harsher than she had meant to. Sougo paused, pensively.

"If you want to create a Hijikata hate club then we can make one together. But I really … " He stopped, thought, then began again. "Give things time. Have you got anything to say to me?"

"Not to a damn sadist." She slipped her hand onto his and leaned into his side. Whispering a barely audible apology, Kagura tried to erase her thoughts and capture the moment there and then. There was a lot that she had to look forward to – her relationship with Sougo was a huge part of that. She could imagine a future now that the war had ended, the loose ends were tied up and Edo was moving on. She had a home; that was enough.

But still …

"I'm still really annoyed though, China bitch," he cursed at her and shrugged one shoulder so that her head jolted.

"And you called _me_ hormonal, damn sadist."

"I waited for two hours."

"I slept really well."

"I can't believe you." Sougo sighed deeply. The sky was turning dark now. They would have to set off back, soon. After the war, all power had been taken out so there were no longer any street lights to guide the way.

"You'll just have to take me out again." She nudged him and he nudged her back.

"There's no way I'm paying for you this time, though."

"You can't make a lady pay." She felt his fingers twirl into her hair. These days, she had lost the energy to tie it up into her usual hairdo. It fell over her shoulders in a messy tangle.

"I wouldn't. But I have no hesitation in making _you_ pay."

"What are you doing off work anyway?"

"I'm not. I was on patrol with Hijikata-san but he ran off to flirt with danna. They haven't seen each other since danna got back." Kagura made a pretend retching noise which Sougo reciprocated. Hijikata and Gintoki's relationship had exploded out of nowhere. The tension between them had been semi-obvious for a while, but all of a sudden it was no longer hidden. Kagura really didn't know how to feel about it, but around the same time she had started getting closer to Sougo so she couldn't really complain.

Sougo got to his feet and brushed down the seat of his trousers.

"Tomorrow night, 8 o'clock," he announced. "You _will_ be there."

"I might," Kagura shrugged, blinking her big blue eyes coyly. She rose to her feet and linked her arm in his.

"If you aren't, I'll honestly kick the shit out of you."

…

Walking into Hijikata's room and finding Gintoki curled up under the covers with him was enough to put Sougo off eating breakfast. He made a mental note that his days of pranking Hijikata in the mornings were over, unfortunately. If it meant he had to put up with this scene, he'd rather not bother. Gintoki was splayed out of his back, one whole leg facing the cold air outside of the futon, with Hijikata in one arm. Sougo rested on his knees beside them and held Gintoki's nose shut with two fingers. Said samurai spluttered awake and batted at his perpetrator with one lazy hand.

"It's still sleepy time, you bastard." Gintoki squinted up and him and let out a huge yawn. Hijikata began to stir.

"How are you going to repay me for the damage done to my eyes?"

"How is that my fault, you pervy creep coming in here at this time ..." Gintoki rubbed at the corners of his eyes and yawned once more. "Look, if you awaken the dragon he ain't going to be happy."

"I can deal with that," Sougo shrugged. "Anyway, where's my souvenir?"

"I've only been away three days."

"Four days now," Sougo pointed to the date on the screen of his phone. "There's someone you haven't visited yet."

"Since when were you so concerned for her. Don't make it snow, my heating's broken."

"Though it isn't like you stay at the apartment anyway." Gintoki gave Sougo a long, hard stare with narrowed dead-fish eyes. He sighed as loudly as he dared.

"Fine, I'm going, I'm going. You win, my little sadist."

Hijikata was eased off him and re-wrapped in the blanket before Gintoki set about getting changed. Sougo began to gather Hijikata's cigarettes. He removed each from the packet individually and hid them all over the room to occupy himself whilst Gintoki slipped into his yukata.

"Are you the reason why sometimes he wakes up in a bad mood?"

"Never," Sougo replied in the least convincing tone.

* * *

 **AN-**

 **A taste of my new fic! I really shouldn't be starting new stuff and I think I say that every time ... But I really like this one. If you're from my other fics, they shall be updated soon! Hang tight! P.S. by request, I'm now on AO3! Search REINDOWN.**


	2. Leaving So Soon?

**Leaving So Soon?**

"Kaaaguraaa!" Gintoki called as he entered the apartment. His immediate thought was how cold it had become. The barracks had gotten the heating up and running rapidly, but the yorozuya had no such benefits of power. It was probably around the freezing mark now. He flicked off his boots and shuffled into the living room. The television was propped in one corner, redundant now that they had no electricity supply. "Oi Kaguraaaa. I'm back."

"She'll still be working," Sougo appeared behind him. "Last night she was looking for somebody - out on a job."

"At this time?"

"Probably all night." He replied. He felt satisfied by the look of surprise on Gintoki's face. It was about time he knew what was going on. Whilst he was moping around because of the incident with Shouyo, repairing lost connections with his old friends and forging new relationships, one very important person had been left behind. And Sougo knew, he knew that Gintoki hadn't done this on purpose. It was because Kagura was understanding and gentle, and it was because she treasured Gintoki so much that he hadn't worried about her. He knew she'd be there when he figured things out. Well, he thought he knew. It was time he saw the reality she was hiding from him. She wasn't doing fine on her own. Gintoki probably figured that Shinpachi and Otose were caring for her, supporting her, but those two had other things to think about. Otose was a fundamental part of the reconstruction of Kabuki, whilst Shinpachi had his real family to be beside.

"What are you trying to tell me, Okita-kun?" His voice became sombre and he turned on the shorter, younger man with an unusual seriousness. Sougo realized how much he must have grown because he was nearly as tall as Gintoki now.

"Danna … it's strange for you not to notice things. I don't know where your brain has gone these past few months but if you can't see what's going on, it's not something I can tell you." Gintoki frowned, but was alerted to the sound of the door sliding open and a thud. Two more thuds, the sounds of boots being kicked off. Kagura stumbled through the door to the living room.

"Kagura ..." Gintoki said, stepping forwards to greet her but her eyes were glazed. She blinked slowly and stepped sideways, clanging against the wall. When Kagura's hand fumbled for something to hold onto, Sougo was instantly by her side. He caught her not a second too late as she collapsed onto the floor. "Kagura!"

She wasn't responding. Sougo held her by the arms and she slumped to the floor, head rolling back as she hadn't the strength to keep it upright. She was out cold in Sougo's arms, white with sweat beading on her forehead. Suddenly, Sougo was angry. He chewed his lip, eyebrows drawn low. Despite the feeling he had that Gintoki and himself were very similar and could understand each other well, right now he was fuming and said person dropped to Kagura's side with a shocked expression. Shocked? Didn't he get it? Not even now?!

"Probably exhaustion," Sougo grunted, resting her down into his lap. "Cold, sleepless nights; long, working days; most likely skips meals because of the food shortage Edo has right now."

"She was fine a few days ago-"

"She has been putting on a brave face, waiting for you to get yourself together." Sougo raised his voice for a moment, then gathered himself. He took a breath. He wasn't going to snap. "Now I hope you see, danna."

Carrying Kagura in his arms and pressing her tight to his chest, Sougo rose to his feet. He padded over to the sofa and laid her down, gathering sheets from the cupboard where she slept which was far too small for her nowadays. Once she had been buried under a mountain of sheets and pillows, he set off to leave. He had work to do – work he couldn't abandon for anything.

"I hope you'll look after her now," he said, without looking back, because he knew Gintoki would.

Kagura woke not much later. She was suffocating under a mountain of blankets and an electric heater had been placed directly in front of her so that desert winds were being blown into her face. She squinted and began to wriggle out from under the tangle of sheets. Before she had even gathered her thoughts, a hot drink was pushed into her warm palms.

"Kaguraaaa~" A familiar, friendly voice cooed. She blinked in surprise at Gintoki, who was beaming at her from his position crouched beside her. "I brought you a souvenir. Here." A crackle of a carrier bag sounded and a light weight appeared in her lap. Kagura scrubbed at her eyes and tried to concentrate. What time was it? Better yet, what day was it? She scrabbled to remove the items from the bag and found that they were all salty snacks.

"Where have you been wasting your money this time?" She pouted, ripping open one of the bags and beginning to munch on the contents.

"Sorry, Zura called me out. Ex-joui funeral." He gave her an apologetic smile and she deepened her pout, opening both her arms – regardless of her age – so that he could pull her close. He wrapped both his large arms around her, locking her into a tight embrace. One of his hands soothed her back.

"Welcome back, Gin-chan," she whispered. He gave her a little squeeze.

"Gin-chan is sorry for leaving you on your own. But he's here now."

"You better be sorry, waste-of-space perm head."

Feeling warm, content even, for the first time in months, Kagura felt herself nodding off to sleep again. Her body was calling her back to dreamland in order to catch up on what she had recently lost. She was startled awake by her thoughts.

"What time is it?"

"About 4pm?" She relaxed visibly and Gintoki raised a questioning eyebrow. They released each other and he patted her head gently. "Why?"

"Can you wake me up around 7?"

"Sure?" He nodded and ruffled her bangs. "Sleep well. Ladies need their beauty sleep."

"Thank you." With a smile, she shuffled herself back into the comfort of her warm, makeshift bed. Gintoki stayed by her reading his JUMP, and the sight of his back nearby was more than enough to lull her to sleep.

She vaguely remembered being out on a job, out looking for someone. Had she found them? She had, the money was in her boot. And then? She could recall the urgent need to get back to the apartment, but the whole thing was just a blur. Probably because she was still sleepy. She'd think more on it later. Right now, her head was heavy.

…

"Nice to know you dressed up for me," Sougo commented sarcastically. Kagura had arrived at their meeting point with a full bed-head. Truth be told, she was pretty anyway, and her sort of dazed look was quite cute. He wasn't going to tell her that, though.

"Shut up, damn sadist," she retorted. "You're still in your uniform."

"Had to work late," he shrugged. "Have you recovered? Because if you faint on me again I'm just going to ditch you in the sea."

"The sea?" She frowned.

"Yeah, so no one will find you." With an eerie smile, he offered out a hand. "Let's go. To the seaside."

It wasn't the first time she had been to the seaside, Sougo knew that. He wasn't taking her to experience anything new – he just liked this place. It wasn't even your typical white sands and crystal ocean waves lapping the shore. The time of year and day combined into a nasty cold, freezing in fact, which was only worsened by a biting wind which sliced the bay. It was a pebble beach that Sougo liked to visit. Hidden behind a sheer cliff-face but in no way sheltered by it, this little cove was amongst the list of places Sougo loved to vanish into. Kagura complained about it the whole journey there. Why the hell were they visiting the beach on a winter's day at dark? The sun had set hours ago, the sky was a dusty colour and the only light they had was Sougo's hand-held torch.

"You're insane," she spat, goosebumps erupting over her forearms.

"Then go home," he replied, shrugging. She threw a pebble at his head from behind but he deftly dodged. He lead her into a forest of rocks, closer and closer to the shoreline and each puddle of trapped seawater was getting deeper the more they walked. He paused for a second and gestured for Kagura to stop. "Sit down for a second."

She obeyed, raising one eyebrow suspiciously as she lowered herself onto a suitably high rock. He knelt before her and slid his hands up her calves, his eyes on what he was doing whilst her eyes watched on, a new kind of shiver running down her spine. With careful pace, he ran his fingers under the top of her boot and began to ease it down. She pointed her toes to allow him to remove it completely. Then, he set about on the other shoe, his fingers running up the seams and gently pulling the material down to her ankle and next over her foot. He put the boot down but did not remove his hands from her feet; Kagura began to tense up, waiting for him to strike and if he did, he was getting a kick in the face. She was all bunched up ready to move when he kissed both her feet softly. The way he stood up and removed his own shoes and socks like nothing had happened brought a scarlet blush to her cheeks. The tiny spots on her feet where his lips had touched were buzzing.

"Come on," Sougo said over his shoulder. "Let's keep going."

Now they were hopping across the rocks, avoiding particularly slippy looking patches of seaweed and weaving their way towards a cliff-face where waves crashed over the silence. Kagura stopped to peer into pools and chase small fish with her fingertips, in which time Sougo would turn and watch. He hadn't said much and there was a definite lack of sarcasm in him today. Kagura had picked up on it but as of yet, she hadn't mentioned it. It was peaceful. It made the pace of her heart quicken. She liked this side of him, too.

They meandered on, the two of them caught under the moonlight which passed behind threads of clouds. The spotlight from Sougo's torch skittered across the rocks to show the way. After a particularly long period of time picking at seashells, Kagura caught up with him and began to follow his path, foot by foot. He extended a hand to her and she gladly slipped her fingertips into his, allowing him to support her – and she him – along the way. As she trod across the precarious surface, she decided that as far as dates went, this wasn't so shitty.

…

The phone in the yorozuya apartment rang clear, stirring Gintoki from a nap he didn't really need. He rolled over to plod on across to the desk and batted a hand at the phone. He lifted the receiver, and it took him several confused seconds to figure out why the ringing hadn't stopped.

That's right, he thought, phone lines are down.

He scanned the room for his mobile with bleary eyes and spotted the screen flashing elsewhere. The mobile was an alien design which ran off satellites, rather than landlines connected through telephone wires. That meant that it still worked, even though construction in Edo hadn't yet fixed the national communication system. His telephone had been redundant for months now, so he conducted all his work through a mobile.

"Yorozuya," he grunted. "Whaddya want?"

"Gin … toki." a voice murmured, sounding equally as sleepy as Gintoki. He recognised the voice immediately.

" … Have you been drinking?" The other end went quiet and Gintoki drummed his fingers on the wall he was leaning against. The reply that came was muffled.

"Come spar with me," Takasugi slurred, "we're not … we aren't finished." Gintoki sighed and the gentle thuds through the receiver answered questions he didn't need to ask.

"Get that lolicon to fight with you. And while he's at it, he can hide the booze from ya." Takasugi snorted.

"The score … v'not settled it. You and me … we're both still here." Don't think about those things. "One of us … needs to die. Or Shouyo -" Gintoki hushed him softly, closing his eyes so that he could imagine his friend. He needed to better envision what he needed right now. Both of them had their moments where everything came crashing down. They had their times of depression which dragged them back, back, back. The past was so strong, so powerful and all enveloping. It was hard to breathe, hard to see through the ghosts swimming beside them. Takasugi had rang him because he needed him there. The way he dealt with all this guilt he was burdened with was to fight it out with Gintoki, to repel all this hatred he had for himself onto someone else – someone who would understand and still be there. The two of them were tied together, the only two people in this world that could comfort one another. When Gintoki became upset, he became self destructive and he knew that Takasugi was the same so he wasn't safe alone. Right now he was trapped with his own worst enemy. Gintoki needed, as he was obliged, to go to him. He had signed the deal the moment he took Shouyo's head.

He needed to go.

But Kagura …

"The beast inside of me," Takasugi continued, his voice breaking, shaking, "He roars. I should have given my life for him, Gintoki. We promised … we promised we would protect him, Gintoki."

"I know. So just wait there," Gintoki began scrawling a note against his conscience. "But it's all over now, we laid him to rest. It's over." He continued to talk to him as he gathered his things and pulled on his boots with one hand. He was thinking about the best route to take to Takasugi. Right now, he was residing in Edo and typically, it would be a quick train journey but transport at the minute was all over the place. The best way to get places nowadays was by taxi or to walk. He didn't have time to walk, but he sure didn't have the money for a taxi all that way. It was going to have to be a creative mixture of the two.

There was a thud on the line and the sound of heavy breathing. Gintoki pressed the receiver to his ear to listen. Takasugi hissed air through his teeth, mumbling curses.

"You can hit me as much as you like. I'll be at yours by tomorrow. Takasugi? Are you still there?"

"When ..." he whispered, "when will this be over, Gintoki?"

He didn't have an answer for that.

Eventually, Takasugi hung up with one last plea for Gintoki to come and fight with him. Gintoki buried his phone into his yukata and set off down the street, eyes downcast and brow furrowed deeply. He walked quickly, cursing the lack of street lights in this area of town. He was nearing the split in the road when someone stopped walking in front of him. Gintoki looked up and was met by Hijikata. He tried to grin at him, but there was an obvious tension between them because Hijikata knew what he was doing and he didn't like it. He had never spoken out against Gintoki's frequent trips away, he didn't need to. They could read each other just fine and the crease in Hijikata's brow was enough.

"I don't know when I'll be back."

"Where are you going this time? You only just got home." Hijikata responded with a carefully selected tone. He was trying to conceal his thoughts as best he could.

"Takasugi called." He made to continue his walk past Hijikata, who startled him into a halt.

"If I call you, will you race back?" He asked. "If I want you back here, will you come?"

What was with all these questions Gintoki couldn't answer? He didn't know, for gods sake. He didn't understand himself any more than anyone else did. He was running on instinct, betraying people because he felt he had to. He couldn't be everywhere, but there were places he needed to be. He just had to go and there was no further explanation he could give. It was a burden he had taken upon himself. It was a sealed deal, an unbreakable contract to that severed head and his past.

"I'm asking you a question, bastard." The words were whispered so lowly that a chill ran between them. "If the China girl needs you home, will you come? If Shinpachi says you should be here, will you listen? You're practically running back to them all the time, to your past, but would you do the same for us?"

"This isn't fair-"

"No, it fucking isn't!" Hijikata spat. "But we never said anything. It wasn't fair, but we let you go."

"Hijikata-"

"Go," Hijikata instructed, turning his back towards him and reaching for another cigarette. "This is the last time I let you, Gintoki."

...


	3. Takasugi's Loss

**T** akasugi's Loss

Shoulders pressed together upon the cliff-top, Kagura and Sougo shared a shiver. The sea mist was so cold it stung her fingertips, but neither of them wanted to move away from the edge. There was something thrilling about where they sat, feet dangling over the drop with skittering stones falling as raindrops, becoming lost in the ocean like salt in sand. It was powerful to be there watching the shadows of the clouds dance on the ocean waves, the spill of the moon's reflection a gentle, immovable glow. The rushing sound of the tide against the rock face below them that cancelled out their breathing provided a constant backdrop to the mood.

"My mum used to always keep me away from places like this," Sougo commented, pulling Kagura's attention away from the waves, "so when she died it kind of became a must."

"You little rebel."

"I guess." He shrugged.

"I was always the adorable, well-behaved treasure. Mama loved me."

"So she died, too?" He probed. Kagura gave a small nod.

"But she was the prettiest mama in the universe."

"You are your father's daughter then?" She nudged him lightly, to which he nudged back and a dangerous game ensued. Eventually, they called a silent truce and went back to watching the trance-inducing swell and fall of the wave crests. "How did she die?"

"Mammy was born on a planet far away where altana gave things life. It was the throbbing energy source in the ground, the air even. When mammy left that planet to be with us … she knew she would not survive without it."

"A being of the altana … like Utsuro?" She hummed in agreement and rose her knees to her chest, hugging them close.

"Don't you have any of that? You and that crazy brother of yours, don't you need altana?"

Kagura frowned. "I have never thought about that. I guess not."

"Maybe it's not the type of thing you can inherit." Sougo mumbled. He must have sunk into his own thoughts then because he didn't stir for several minutes, brow lowered slightly. She would glance at him every now and again. She had questions she wanted to ask but she had seen him after losing Mitsuba. It frightened her to bring back that pain to him. It seemed like the memory was still too raw for her to probe, ice still too thin that he was in danger of cracking. Mitsuba was his one weakness, and she was sure she always had been.

Kagura had her own weaknesses.

Sougo nudged her and she blinked. She became aware of how much time had passed since they had arrived and also of the temperature of her toes. It was definitely time to go. She stood up and offered her hand to help him to his feet, where they began the staggered descent to the beach and back towards town. The shinsengumi barracks were further than the apartment so it made sense that Sougo walk with her. They were no longer holding hands but their shoulders still brushed every few steps. It was just nice to be close. It wasn't often that they had time to spend together like this. Moreover, looking around at the town she loved so dearly became less painful when he was there. Alone, she couldn't help look at the ruins and remember what used to be. The shattered lives on all sides, pathetic attempts at houses lining the streets because people couldn't afford more than the rubble they slept beside. It was so much more bearable to walk with him and instead imagine the future.

Kagura climbed the steps to the yorozuya and Sougo followed a step behind. When she reached the door, she turned to say goodbye but he shook his head.

"I'm coming in for a bit. To see danna." Kagura grunted something about self-inviting but didn't stop him. She kicked off her boots, noting the clumps of rock and sand caught in the tread as she did so, and called for Gintoki.

"Gin-chan~" she yelled. There was no immediate response, which didn't particularly mean anything. He could be engrossed in JUMP, asleep on the sofa or even downstairs with Otose.

The note on the desk meant a lot more.

She didn't even read the paper. If he had popped out for something, he wouldn't have bothered leaving a note. Her heart sank and a hole opened up inside of her. Sougo passed and picked up the note to read. He crumpled it in his hands. There was no need to speak. She knew what the note said and he knew exactly how lost and depressed she felt. His brow ticked slightly as he slung the note into the bin and walked over, wrapping his arms around her. His larger size completely encircled Kagura; she could hide her face in his chest, sink her hands into his jacket. He lifted one hand to stroke it from the crown of her head, right down her back to the tips. It offered little comfort. Gintoki had broken his promise.

This time, he had said he would stay.

* * *

Hijikata was flooding his breakfast bowl with mayonnaise when Okita Sougo finally shuffled into the barracks. Looking up from his cereal, he noticed the heavy bags under his eyes. Wherever he had been, he hadn't slept last night. Though, after yesterday's events, it wasn't hard for him to guess where he'd stayed over. Sougo caught his stare and immediately clicked his tongue, turning his head away. For once, he didn't head straight to Hijikata's table to tease him and instead seated himself on an empty table elsewhere. With a sigh, Hijikata finished off his meal quickly so he could catch his subordinate before he sneaked out of sight. Sougo picked his head up at the clunk of boots behind him but didn't turn.

"You're late," he grunted. Sougo shrugged sagging shoulders; he looked drained. "As a superior officer you should be setting an example, you brat." There was no reply, so Hijikata slid into the seat next to him and adopted what he hoped appeared to be a non-aggressive pose. It wasn't often that Sougo let things bother him. There had been a definite change in him recently. Hijikata was unsure whether this was part of 'growing up', or a result of the chaotic world they now lived in. Even _he_ was getting emotional. Maybe this was just how relationships were. Neither had them had experienced anything like what they were both a part of now, so they were completely new to it all.

He had been surprised when Gintoki hinted to him about Kagura and Sougo's relationship. Admittedly, the situation he had been in was downright inappropriate anyway, so any sort of information given to him was a surprise. But to him, Sougo was always a little kid. For him to be interested in that type of thing was a shock. To be interested in China … to be honest, less so. They had always had good chemistry, and of all people, Sougo had been there when others hadn't. The reverse was also true. Hijikata just hadn't expected things to happen so quickly. Even to go as far as staying over when Kagura was vulnerable, like last night. He felt they should still be throwing worms down each other's collars. As of yet, he hadn't asked Gintoki what he thought about it all. There was a lot on his mind right now and Hijikata was treading ice (which he probably shattered with a sledge hammer last night).

"Your boyfriend has gone off to cheat on you again," Sougo commented. Hijikata winced – boyfriend was such a juvenile word.

"He causes nothing but trouble."

"I just don't understand him nowadays."

Hijikata snorted bitterly. "That makes two of us." Neither of them being one for conversation, the dialogue stopped short there, whilst Sougo chewed lazily on rice and Hijikata drummed his fingers on the desk, thinking.

He was trying to solve this puzzle. Gintoki was such an essential piece to Kabuki and he was missing. Because of him, all these problems were sprouting. Honestly, he was such a douche. But Gintoki had problems of his own. He was torn between two parts of himself, neither of which he wanted to let go of. Hijikata knew this was as much his problem as it was Gintoki's. How could he share the burden? How could he fix him? He was too pissed off to think logically because _logic_ told him to drag his backside home. Who gave a shit about his past? His future was right here. And he was bitterly annoyed that Takasugi Shinsuke was his competition. Him and Zura. Of all people, he was playing tug of war against jouishishi rebels – what nonsense. He couldn't even sympathise with them. They should just go back to blowing shit up so he could chase them down like rabbits.

He breathed aggressively through his nostrils, curses on his tongue that he couldn't say out-loud.

"I'll not be staying here tonight either." Sougo broke the silence, not commenting on the steam billowing from Hijikata. He got to his feet and pushed the chair back under the table.

"Take your comms device. If I need you, I'll call."

"Who'd want you calling," he sniffed, curling his lip. He left and Hijikata remained to aggressively clean up the dishes he had abandoned (probably on purpose). He was about to leave and start morning duties when a tap on his shoulder stilled him. It was Kondo.

"Did you talk to him?" he asked.

"Well, kind of."

"He seemed … upset." Kondo's eyes were soft and worried. He had a slight furrow in his brow.

"Relationship problems," Hijikata shrugged and tried to end the conversation there; he knew what was coming next.

"And you?"

"What about me? I'm fine." He replied far too quickly. He wasn't fooling anyone.

"Tosshi." The word was powerful enough to halt his footsteps. "If the yorozuya is in trouble, _we're_ in trouble. It's as much my problem as it is theirs because you two are important to me."

"It's not something worthy of your attention, Kondo-san."

"To-"

"Honestly, I don't know what to do, but at the moment, all we can do is wait for him to return. He's a grown man, he can do what he likes … I can't stop him."

"I'm sure he'll listen to you-"

"Like hell he would!" He shouted, suddenly glad that the room was empty of his subordinates. "I tried, Kondo-san. I told him not to go and he went. What- … _fuck_. What more can I do?" Clenching his fists tight, he stormed out of there. He was bitter, angry. He had tried to cover it up. He had tried to sort this again and again, tried to lock it all away in a little box somewhere but, fuck, he was so, so angry.

So _hurt_.

* * *

A knock stirred Kagura. She couldn't have called it sleeping – she hadn't known sleep in weeks. The sound of the door took a few moments to stir her, though, and getting up with her aching limbs didn't seem like such a pleasant idea. Anyhow, she rolled off the sofa onto her unsteady feet just as Shinpachi entered the living room. He beamed brightly at her, holding something wrapped in a carrier bag in his hands that tickled her nose. She attempted to smile back. Attempted.

"Don't you have any jobs today?" He asked, letting himself in and shuffling over to the kitchen. "I brought this for you to have tonight but if you're hungry, I can warm it up?"

"Thanks, Shin-chan."

"No problem. Where's Gin-san? I heard he came back." She lowered her eyes to the floor and sank back into the sofa. Her silence was her answer and Shinpachi frowned disapprovingly. "He's gone again?" He tutted. "I appreciate that he needs to see his friends sometimes but this is excessive." Kagura reached for the remote to drown out her thoughts with background noise. Shinpachi emptied the carrier bag onto the side and set up the electric stove he had brought to heat the contents. He glanced over at Kagura again, his concern only deepening.

"You look terrible, Kagura-chan." His admonishment was ignored as she became absorbed in another trash drama series. Shinpachi strode over and stood between her and the screen so that she had no choice but to look at him. "Have you been sleeping properly? Never mind that, have you even been eating? You've lost a lot of weight."

"Are you calling me fat?" she mumbled, her heart not really in it.

"I'm worried for you. Do you want to come stay with us?"

"Where?" She snorted. "You've got a tent and a pile of bricks."

"A tent and a pile of bricks it may be, but we're together, sis and I. You're alone."

"I'm fine."

His expression saddened and his response was a low whisper. "Look in the mirror and say that again."

He decided to leave her be for now. His warning had been heard and he would definitely be speaking to Gintoki when he returned. If things continued, he would drag Kagura out to live with him and his sister. They'd have no money, no heating and just a tent to sleep in, but they'd be together. Kagura could quit the yorozuya and help them rebuild the dojo. They'd manage somehow without an income. They had to because things couldn't carry on this way.

As starved and tired as she looked, Kagura could do no more than pick at the stew Shinpachi had bowled up for her. She turned several shades of green as she ate it; she still forced it down.

He was unwilling to leave her but Shinpachi had a list as long as his body of things to do. He scrawled a note for Gintoki and left it with the others that had piled up on his desk. After giving Kagura a small hug and pat on the head, he left to grab his shoes.

"If you need anything, you know where I am!" He called as he left.

* * *

A storm was on its way. The first pellets of rain chipped Gintoki's shoulders as he walked the final distance to Takasugi's house. The place was a reasonable distance from the nearest village and hidden on the opposite side of a lake within the drop of a valley. He owned a fair amount of the land around it, too. It had previously been a government official's holiday home, but Takasugi wasn't known for 'buying' what he wanted. Who knew how it had come into his possession. The road had ended quite some time ago and Gintoki was trudging through muddy fields, using only his acute sense of direction to get him to where he needed to be. He had been here enough times, the problem was each time he came, he seemed to take another route. Every tree looked the same and the only reference he had was the lake on his right hand side. Eventually, the wooden-built house appeared through the trees and Gintoki re-centred himself on the right path towards it.

Right outside the surrounding stone wall was a cherry blossom tree. It was very Takasugi-esque. The traditionalism of it all - tiled sloping rooftop and sliding doors, wooden framed entrance-ways made of paper that allowed soft light to filter through - it was very typical of him. He passed two statues of gremlin-like dogs guarding the entranceway. The wall encircled the house in the same dramatic design as the rest of the building with little fish motifs at the edges. It wasn't Gintoki's style. He liked traditional houses, but he liked the plainness of it. All the expensive looking additions made his stomach curl. What Takasugi resided in was less of a home and more of a temple. Or even a castle.

As he thought, very Takasugi-like.

He didn't knock or call out. There wouldn't be anyone home except the owner, he knew. Gintoki often wondered what had happened to Takasugi's vast network of connections: the blonde woman, the guy with sunglasses, where had they disappeared to? Most likely, they had been shut out. That guy was like that. He didn't deal well with connections if they were not for business. He couldn't cope with friendship or love. The reason being, relationships meant more to him than to anybody Gintoki had ever known, and all of the ones he had treasured had been mauled somehow. His beloved teacher, who had taught him to live, had been taken away. His friends, who showed him laughter, became enemies.

All this had started so long ago, but the dark result of it was now raising its ugly head.

"Gintoki?" Gintoki's feet paused and he twisted over his shoulder to see his friend. He looked terrible - probably the result of a bad hangover.

"You look like shit," he said bluntly, not hiding his expression as he looked Takasugi up and down.

"Why are you here?"

Gintoki snorted, making his way uninvited to where the kotatsu was and burrowing himself under it to get warm. "You asked me to. Were you that drunk?"

"Shut up, you imbecile." Takasugi shuffled after him and sat at the other side, Gintoki's feet finding their way into his lap. They kicked and pulled at each other for several moments, but in the end Gintoki's feet won. "Shouldn't you be with your kids?"

"What, you want me to leave?" He complained.

"I didn't say that."

Truly, he did appear drained. It must have been a very bad few nights for him. There didn't necessarily need to be a trigger for times like this either; Gintoki knew that well enough. Sometimes, memories were painted more vividly than others. They spent a good five minutes in silence, Gintoki laid on his back with his arms behind his head, Takasugi staring at the ceiling blankly. It was a miracle that things had come this far. Only months previous, they would meet with the sole intention of killing each other. Gintoki, fearing what his friend had become and understanding his self-consuming wish to die and destroy the world with him, wanted to preserve his friend in the only way he knew. Takasugi, caught up in a torrent of pain that didn't know where to direct itself, where to blame, collided against Gintoki in a vein attempt to silence the screaming beast inside. Neither of them had true reason for blood lust, they understood that now. And though Zura was still struggling against his morals, unable to face Takasugi as he previously had, somehow Gintoki had elapsed back into the past so easily. Calling a truce wasn't as difficult as he had believed. It was only their surroundings that had changed. Takasugi was still the abandoned rich kid who so desperately wanted to do as he pleased and follow his own rules. Gintoki was the abandoned poor kid, who also desperately pursued his own rules.

"What happened to your fangirl?" He asked. He made sure to watch Takasugi's expression.

"I don't need her any more." The reply was double layered. On the outside, that cold icy plain that was hostile to all. Inside, he was unsure. Takasugi knew as well as Gintoki that if he asked her to, she would stay.

"And the ukulele fellow?"

"It's not a- … Him, too."

"Why not?" He shifted uncomfortably where he sat. Gintoki knew he had to probe carefully as anything too deep and he would snap out. Still, he pushed a little further. "Relax a bit. You're no longer the leader of the Kiheitai."

"Exactly, you idiot." _Oops, too deep._ "That's why I sent them back."

"To where? If they had anything worth returning to, they wouldn't have joined the Kiheitai, would they?"

"What does it matter? Shut up before I hit you."

"The world has ended and been reborn. You have a chance to live again and those guys are willing to spend their lives with you. Why not let them?"

"The world did end, Gintoki. But not when Utsuro was killed."

Though Gintoki had somehow been able to come to terms with Utsuro, Takasugi had not. Gintoki had his kids – they had dragged him through all that trauma. Every nightmare he woke knowing they were close by. Each fight he fought, they fought alongside him and were the firm earth beneath his feet that reinstated his reason. Through all the blood shed, the self-hatred, those kids had been there to guide him along the right path. Takasugi had none of that: he had made sure of it. He had thrown away everything in his grasp, fearing it would hold him back. He had always been afraid of his reason being clouded; he couldn't get the revenge his body craved if he treasured people. Friendships? How could he have those when his sole reason to live was to die.

"Hey, Takasugi," Gintoki muttered, following the shadows on the ceiling with his eyes. "Remember that time I was caught in an explosion and you single-handedly carried me miles away from the battlefield. You didn't stop once, not for food or water or a rest." Takasugi didn't reply and Gintoki had not expected him to. They hadn't shared this many years together to need words to express things. "You told me not to die."

"Your point?"

"There isn't one, really." He scratched his stomach with one hand. "I'm, just thankful. Because that day, I would have died. And if I had, I wouldn't have lived to meet those two."

"Your kids?" Takasugi couldn't help scoffing at him. "Honestly, I never thought you'd become so soppy, playing house in your thirties."

" _Twenties_."  
"Could be thirties for all you know."

"I could be the dancing queen."

"No you couldn't," he stifled a laugh.

"Anyway, when are you going to make me a drink? I'm a visitor."  
"Do you want one?"

"Er, yeah?"

"If you turn the tap to the left water comes out. And it's free."

"You're a real bastard."

Gintoki was beginning to feel the anxiety seep out of his bones. He had been tense since the moment of that phone call, worried that this time, Takasugi would go one step too far. Sober and no longer alone, he seemed much more like his usual self. He was considering taking a step that, for a long time, he had considered impossible for them both: visiting the place where they met Shouyo. The place where the master they knew was born and died, where three monsters, young and alone, were brought together. Truthfully, he had wanted Zura to come with him but repairing the relationship between Takasugi and Zura seemed a much farther-off goal than bringing Takasugi back alone. However, Gintoki believed that Zura would probably come along if he asked, to pay his respects.

It was all so complicated.

Fixing themselves, fixing each other. He often wondered if it was worth it. When all three had new lives with new people, new goals, what use was there in resuscitating their dead relationship? Despite that, he couldn't abandon his ties to them, especially when out of the three, Takasugi would get the worst deal. That incident had exploded between them, sending each shard off in a different direction. For a long while, they had stumbled on, trying to find a new reason to live. Now, Gintoki could truthfully say he had found his. And he knew that Takasugi had not. When Takasugi was struggling so hard to recover from the same blow he had been dealt, how could he float away and leave him to sink?

The whole thing was so complicated.

All he knew, in the end, is that he treasured their past together, and that – for him – was enough reason for him to stay.

* * *

The gentle thrum of noise was a pleasant background buzz for Kagura, allowing her thoughts to be pushed aside as she waited for her next customer. It was evening time, so the street had a constant flow of people meandering towards town. Evening lighting allowed her to sink into the shadow of a vending machine with ease. She could watch the throng of people come and go, able to observe their movements and anticipate actions before they occurred. Sougo had taught her that. One day whilst eating outside a café in broad daylight, he had run through human psychology – ticks and behaviour changes. He talked about how to tell what they were thinking, if they were calm or nervous, whether they were suspicious or average. It was interesting to do. She often found herself running through these rules in her head when she was bored or waiting for someone. Times such as this, however, his tricks were practical.

The caller hadn't given her much information. He was willing to pay quite a large sum, but he would not meet her at the apartment to explain – it had to be out in the open. Their actual meeting place was about 100 or so paces down the street and she was already ten minutes late. She had been observing the scene for at least half an hour. Really, she was plenty strong enough to counter anything that could happen but it was something to do. The precaution wasn't necessary, however it did make her quite excited about the meeting going by the crew of hidden mafia she had identified awaiting her. They had done their best to cover up – about three or four of them scattered in the street wearing casual clothes – and yet they stuck out like big red x's on the floor. Sougo's tips had been very useful.

Number one: people who share a connection or get along tend to copy each other's body language. Men and/or women sat or stood similarly have often subconsciously copied one another. They have a connection in some form. For example, one may be watching the other, or they may know them. This is particularly important to notice when one of the group changes positions. If they were connected in any way, the other was likely to copy. Kagura had noticed this alignment. When Mafia guy 1 folded his arms, Mafia guy 2 did so, too.

Number two: those trying their best to fade in will not look awkward. Your average person waiting for someone outside a café will immediately take to checking their phone, else they will shift and fidget, glancing up and down the street. Conversely, the mafia crew each looked calm. They checked their watches with grace, sighed, read a newspaper. It was all very natural, and thereby _un_ natural, according to Sougo.

Number three: the best way to stake out an enemy is to think like them. It was a cliché claim, but it worked. Look for the most hidden areas, the best covered, the ones with the widest view … where you'd chose to be safe is likely where they will be. Guy 1 took refuge within a restaurant at the table by the window. It was in sight of the meeting location with only a few paces to take away from the door. Guy 2 was almost directly across the street smoking a cigarette under a canopy. Again, he had a perfect view of the scene without having to travel too far away. Guy 3 sat on a bench only a few meters from Kagura. She was sure he hadn't spotted her yet – he had his back to her. Despite that, he had a good view of the street. The fourth guy she had noticed was a maybe, but she still kept tabs on his whereabouts just in case.

It was about time for her to find out what three mafia men and a businessman had planned for her.

She grasped for her umbrella which had been leaning against her thigh, confidently swooping the large object round and onto her back. She strode towards their arranged meeting place, making firm eye contact with each of the potential threats as she did so. This was the perfect distraction. The thrill of a fight managed to take her away from everything. It fired energy through her limbs, electrifying her fatigue and giving her a strength she hadn't felt for days. She knew they were watching her - she could feel the muzzle of a weapon circling her heart. She let the roar of her blood fire up in her ears so her thoughts became mumbles, focussed on the microscopic movements of each person around her. _Don't think about him._ Each shift of a pupil, twitch of a hand. D _on't think about him._

"Are you the client?" Kagura struck the nose of her umbrella into the ground and cocked her head.

"Yorozuya? Perfect. Sit down." She did so, but not without flicking her eyes once more to the mafia guy indoors. Her eyes glared – _I know you're there_. He blinked but didn't falter. "You're a Yato, right? In my bag I have a large sum of money. It will all be yours if you provide protection for me during a transaction I am going to make today." She nodded. She didn't need to know the details. She didn't need to know if this was legal or not; to be honest, she knew the answer to that. Why shouldn't she get involved? It was easy cash and it was no different from the jobs she had done before- …

Before she had met Gintoki.

Strength was her race's unique selling point. If she didn't get involved with the transaction, she couldn't be held responsible. Or so she kept telling herself.

"What do you need me for if you have those guys?" She gestured to the hidden backup troop and the man's thin brows shot up in surprise. Obviously she wasn't meant to know about that. Though, his reaction had more or less confirmed it.

"I need the assurance of a Yato's strength. Deal?" He extended his hand to her, smiling broadly. Pausing only briefly, Kagura took it.

* * *

'The transaction' was to take place in a busy, high-end restaurant. Being in the public eye, it was a perfect place to prevent fraud of whatever kind. The table was in the centre of the room, Kagura's new boss sat across from an empty chair and her seated right behind, munching on a dish he had paid for. The rest of their crew were splattered all over the place and she hadn't bothered to check on them. All she knew was that someone was going to seat themselves opposite the scrawny, middle-aged bloke she had shook hands with and it was her job to watch his back. It was a pretty simple job. Her environment, however, made her feel a little nervous. If something kicked off, every single person in the room was in danger.

She chomped down on another mouthful, barely swallowing it before she nearly brought it back up. Food had never been a problem of hers. Recently? It wouldn't go down. Was this part of growing up? Or was her lack of appetite a result of chronic stress? She gulped down a full cup of water regardless. Free food was free food.

At that moment, the tension in the room seemed to escalate and a familiar buzz of instinct halted her chopsticks. She identified her 'client's' business partner, sussed him out from head to toe. Pretty plain. In fact, he was even wearing sandals. Hardly the sort of black-suited mafia agent she was expecting. Behind him though … three Yato.

* * *

"Captain!" Yamazaki burst open the door to Sougo's room, rousing him from a shallow slumber. "Emergency!"

Two squads, including Sougo's, formed up at the front of the barracks, weapons firmly at their hips. Hijikata was the first of the commanders to appear, briefly explaining the situation whilst the cars and equipment were readied.

"We're running on low intel, so keep sharp. Anything suspicious is important, anything not suspicious may be even more so. Sougo's squad will raid the unit, I will hold the outside. Keep your communication devices on. That's all."

With that, they filed into awaiting vehicles which swept off, sirens blaring. The radios each soldier was wearing buzzed every twenty seconds or so with new intel. Sougo rubbed his eyes with his palm and yawned. He wasn't in the mood for something like this. Whoever had decided to stage an attack on a restaurant should just die and go to hell for disturbing his nap.

" _There are accounts of nineteen civilians injured. None reported dead so far._ "

It was just really unfair that terrorists or whoever wanted to cause trouble on this of all days.

" _We're after a man of around late thirties, early forties in western clothing and a man of younger age wearing traditional attire. They have escaped towards the docks._ "

The car skidded by kabuki district and Sougo wondered what Kagura was doing right now. He should have asked before he left that morning if she had a job on or if she would be alone, but he hadn't. There wasn't anything he could do, either way. He had work, as annoying as it was.

" _It seems to be a gang fight._ "

He was really bitter that their night together had been ruined – danna was going to have to repay him for that, amongst other things.

" _Reports have detailed what appears to be three yato. Two male and one female._ "

* * *

Something was wrong with her body. It wasn't responding and she was sure that she tasted blood in her mouth. She hadn't even been hit yet, but the way things were going, she couldn't hold out much longer. Whatever had gone wrong in the transaction didn't matter. She didn't care. However, she very much did care about the civilians who had become trapped on a battlefield. When the relationship had soured, one of the Yato had turned on her client so fast that she barely had time to diffuse the power of the blow with her umbrella. The other two Yato stalked the room and flattened the mafia men who had made vain attempts at drawing weapons on them. It was quickly just Kagura, her client and a room full of innocent people.

It took all her effort to defend herself _and_ divert the fight outside. Client stuffed under one arm like a rug, she had sprinted at least half a mile before her feet were taken out by a flying umbrella. She tumbled across the floor, gathering bruises like dust and scraping most of the left side of her face against raw concrete. That hurt, but not as much as the subsequent pummelling to her stomach as a heavy body slammed on top of her. She knew she was not on form. She gave her body instructions it just couldn't cope with, arms like jelly and legs like lead – so weak and yet immovable. Was this stress? Had she contracted a cold? Was the reason she had collapsed the same reason her chin was getting cracked left and right, blow after blow?

She hurled blood onto the concrete, barely managing to kick the adult Yato off and wrestle out of his grasp. Immediately, she found her client dead before her. His neck had been snapped, probably ages ago, so these Yato really had no need to be beating her like this. This was just fun. Kagura less than gracefully leapt to her feet and set off running once more. She got no more than two paces - she hadn't even seen the second Yato in front, who grabbed her by the neck and crushed it in his iron grip. The pain was agonising, bringing an acidic burn to her mouth as she choked on her own bile. Her ears tuned out because she was just waiting for the _click_ of her death.

Bright lights swung their way and the Yato holding her disappeared into the night, but not before throwing her limp body over the edge of the concrete, dropping down into darkness until she met the water below with a harsh clap.

There was nothing more she could recall.

* * *

No words had passed between Hijikata and Sougo when they had jumped from the back seats of the police cars and encountered the crime scene. Hijikata sent his troops racing after the shadows of Yato vanishing into the night; Sougo dived over the edge of the docks.

He dragged an unconscious, non-breathing Kagura to where his troops dangled a rope to them. His heart beat so loudly. He really needed to concentrate but his hands were shaking. She wasn't breathing. She wasn't breathing. He needed her to breathe. He couldn't even make the decision to climb the rope because he was panicked, he needed her to breathe – _now_. One of his men managed to get him to grasp the rope and they were heaved up as quickly as possible.

What had he learned in battle first aid? CPR. That's right. CPR. How did he do that? She was laid out beneath him, snow white skin and was that - blood? A smear of- … CPR. He needed to do it now. But wouldn't she choke on water? Did he need to somehow empty her lungs of water? Fuck, he didn't know.

"She's breathing!" Kagura choked, signalling her first breath which was punctuated by a mixture of water and blood dribbling down her neck but Sougo couldn't care less at that moment. He shook with relief, though quickly he felt the cold shiver of panic in his hands. He couldn't stop the trembling.

"MEDIC." His scream pierced the air and was repeated down several radios in response. She was quickly buried under a mountain of shinsengumi jackets. Not a single policeman was in more than his vest – Sougo ensured it. He wasn't out of the danger zone yet. His gut was still unsettled. She looked dreadfully cold. Even the wounds on her body were a cold purple, not a warm red.

She was not safe yet.


	4. Answer Me

**A** nswer Me

"Luckily, her race have a stupidly quick recovery." Hijikata mused over the body before him, saying it aloud in hopes that Sougo would speak. He had been silent for far too long and who knew what was going on in his head. "Looks worse than it is, I suppose."

"Still, why did she get caught up in a dodgy deal like that?" Kondo folded his arms across his chest. "The yorozuya don't usually get involved with illegal activities."

"No, they do," Hijikata interjected, "just accidentally."

"This was a deal between two criminals. Did the China girl try to stop the transaction? Sougo, do you know anything?" Kondo and Hijikata both looked across to where the young man slouched in a chair staring blankly out the window. He shrugged, and apparently that was all the response he was going to give. Hijikata couldn't hold back an exasperated sigh.

Actually, he had spoken high hopes for Kagura's swift recovery but the doctor had told him something in confidence. Something that only himself and Kondo were informed: her constitution was poor. Human science obviously knew little about amanto bodies, and even less about the rare species of Yato, but even still, the doctors could tell she wasn't right. The recovery was too slow. It had been three days and she hadn't so much as stirred. They hadn't told Sougo. He wasn't taking her situation well. His behaviour had been perfectly normal – he slept, he ate, he worked, he played tricks on Hijikata … but they knew him well enough to detect changes in him that weren't so palpable. Little things they could not explain to anyone else, but that stood out like sharp needles.

Though paramount to Sougo's health was Kagura's, for one ultimately affected the other. Hijikata knew he should contact Gintoki – he knew that was the right decision for both her and everyone involved – but he held back for selfish reasons. He wanted Gintoki to feel bad. Eventually, when he returned, he wanted the man to hang his head in shame, feel the press of guilt and maybe, just maybe, his attention would be swayed back to where it belonged. Hijikata hadn't been joking when he had said this was the last time he would let Gintoki go. After which, things would get violent.

With one last unconscious sigh and a burst of coughing to try and cover it up, Hijikata made an excuse to leave and checked on Sougo one more time before he left. Still nothing.

He would hold off another day before making the phone call.

The real wonder was why Sougo hadn't contacted Gintoki himself. The two of them were closer than Hijikata really liked, and for that he expected Sougo to rely more on the man. He suspected there was something amiss, almost certainly related to Kagura. Hijikata probably wasn't the only one who couldn't comprehend him any more.

Behind him, the sound of scuttled footsteps alerted Hijikata that Kondo had followed him out. The inevitable conversation drained Hijikata before it had even started. Right now he just wanted to drown himself in work and ignore everything, not talk about it.

"Shinpachi-kun said he'd come over to see her again tonight," he said. "It seems construction is going well and they've managed to gather enough funds for the roof tiles they were missing."

"That's good."

"Otae made some get-well-soon rice but I managed to secretly dispose of it."

"Hm."

"Will you be visiting her again tomorrow?"

"Well since that idiot's gone, she needs some sort of guardian. I'm not taking responsibility for her, but I'll keep checking up."

"You got quite close to her recently." Kondo hummed, trying to hide the small smile twisting the corner of his lips. He didn't hide it well at all.

"Well obviously," Hijikata scoffed. "Since I spend all my time at her house." A blush zoomed into his face as he realised what he had said, which Kondo didn't aid by blushing in unison with him. He immanently needed to change the mood. "She just hates me a little less than when … ah, we first ..." He had made it much worse. "... started dating."

"She was a little possessive, eh?" Kondo chuckled and without knowing so, he made Hijikata's heart sink into his gut. Perhaps he had started all this by taking Gintoki away from her. He'd never thought of it that way, but by wedging his way into their tight-knit relationship, maybe he had pushed them apart – or at least started the cogs. Regardless, she was in need of medical attention and he would ensure she got it. _Somebody_ had to be there for her.

"Did Sougo mention when he was planning to leave?"

"He said he'd stay a while longer before heading back." Kondo's words were accompanied by a heavy sigh. They were both exhausted by recent events. Though they didn't speak of it, both were conflicted as to whether they should inform Sougo on Kagura's condition. Maybe he could already tell. In any case, Kondo had declared a silence for now until things became clearer, and in the meantime, Hijikata was looking for a doctor well-versed in amanto conditions.

"Where are you heading next, Kondo-san?"

"Back to base. I'm going to look through the records for those cases we started yesterday. I'm sure I've heard those names before. What about you?"

"I'll see you later tonight. I sent my squad out patrolling the docks. I'm going to catch up with them for now."

"I see." Kondo nodded. They had just reached their respective police cars parked side by side at the hospital's back entrance. His hand hovered over the handle. "Ah, at some point, would you mind contacting the old woman below the yorozuya? She might know something about the girl."

"Otose-san?" He didn't feel comfortable in that woman's presence but he wasn't so disturbed that he'd turn down Kondo's request. "Sure. See you later." He swung the door open.

"Look after yourself, Tosshi!" Kondo called back just before the roar of the engine fired up.

* * *

Yoshida Shoyou's grave had gone.

After all, it had only been a sword in the ground and not a proper burial. Either it had tumbled into the sea, or someone had played King Arthur on the cliff edge. Still, the two men pinned their eyes to where the point of the sword had pierced the earth and exchanged not a word.

The wind was bitterly cold.

Gintoki closed his eyes and saw open palms flash under his eyelids. Those were chased away by playful sword swings and smiles of familiar faces. He could see them all clearly. It was almost as though he could reach out and return to them. He thought once more about whether it was a mistake not to invite Zura with them, but he couldn't find an answer to that. He let it pass by him with the blowing wind. Takasugi remained in stoic silence as he cast his eyes over the horizon. There was nothing here for them any more – just the heavy, hanging nostalgia.

"We'll never know if we did right, you know." Takasugi said, his words whisked away by the wind but Gintoki still heard them.

"What do you mean?"

"Killing Shoyou, killing Utsuro … and my plight to destroy the world Utsuro had created. How do we know that any of it was right?" Gintoki snorted.

"That's simple, isn't it?" He scoffed and though he was smiling, there was a dullness in his expression. "We look at what we've got," Gintoki raised his eyes to the sky, holding out open palms to the clouds, "and we decide if it was worth it." The first rain drops splashed into Gintoki's open hands, quickly followed by more as the sky began to darken with cloud. After a few seconds, Gintoki suggested they return with a tilt of his head. Takasugi took one last look towards the sky and followed behind.

Shortly after they began the walk to Takasugi's residence, Gintoki's mobile began to buzz. He considered not answering, but the name on the screen made him wince. He definitely had to take this.

"... Hijikata-kuun~?" He said, tentatively into the microphone. He expected a heated response; the calmness in Hijikata's softly spoken words came as a shock. Instantly, the mood was serious.

"Come home, Gintoki."

" … I was planning on returning soon."

"Soon isn't good enough. I'm being serious – get back here."

"There's a storm tonight. Even if I wanted to come back-"

"-Look, I don't want to talk about this on the phone. Get walking, whether there's some pansy raindrops in the air or not. Understand?"

"What happened?" Hijikata didn't hide his sigh: as expected, Gintoki was making this harder than it needed to be.

"It's your girl. She's not very well."

"What do you mean?"

"For gods sake, Gintoki-"

"Hijikata!" He snapped. "Tell me."

"..." Clearly, Hijikata was hesitant to say anything when there was such a gaping distance between them. Either that meant he was tricking Gintoki into returning, which was extremely unlikely considering his character, or he wanted to say it in person. Therefore, it was serious. Kagura was in serious danger – so much so that Hijikata wouldn't reveal what was happening until he could fully gauge Gintoki's mood and reaction, which he could only do face to face.

"Toshiro." Gintoki pushed.

"Gahh …" He exclaimed, exasperated. "She's in a really bad way. She got involved in a fight a few days ago – it was really bad, but there's something else going on. We got a doctor involved-"

"You didn't tell me?!" Gintoki shouted in anger. Takasugi was watching him carefully.

"You didn't deserve to know." Hijkata replied calmly, and it stung. "Anyway, the doctor said her bad health is nothing to do with that incident. So we got in touch with Umibouzu, and he seems to think that Utsuro has awakened some of her mother's DNA within her. She's suffering the same symptoms. Now that the terminal has been shut down, there's no longer a huge source of altana running through the earth. We're not sure at all what's going on … you need to get back here."

Hijikata didn't need to tell him twice.

* * *

"When the terminal shut down, the core altana was removed, too." Hijikata announced mid-stride. This wasn't official police business; he didn't care. He was using police time and resources because fuck policy. Sougo, on the other end of the phone, was unsurprisingly cooperative. "One of the members of the previous Naraku who guarded the place must have taken it."

"Send me, Hijikata."

"You know I can't. You have a whole team to lead back here."

"That's why we have a 2IC, isn't it? I'm going, whether you give permission or not."

"Sougo, what can you hope to achieve out there in space? Shouldn't you stay back here with her?"

"I can't stay still."

"Kondo-san wouldn't allow this."

"Which is why I'm asking you."

"... Fine." He sighed – he'd done a lot of that recently. "The team head out tomorrow morning. See if you can get in contact with anyone in space. Even that laughing idiot Gintoki knows could help."

"I've got someone in mind."

"Who?"

"A pirate. And a brother."

"... You can't let the higher ups find out. If they know you've worked with the Harusame ..."

"They'll only know if you tell. Besides, there's barely such a thing as the higher ups now that Edo has been destroyed."

"Be careful, Sougo."

"I'll probably have left before danna returns … so I want you to stop him from going out into space after me. This is his chance. As much as he'll want to do something for her, his responsibility now is to stay by her side."

"I've never been very good at stopping him, you know that." Hijikata warned, feeling irritated just imagining the inevitable argument him and Gintoki were going to have soon.

"Then get good at it." Sougo said, hanging up.

"That brat ..."


End file.
